Astriferous
by sailortsun
Summary: Hinata, a social recluse, finds herself being pulled from the safe proximity of her apartment, by two people she never imagined crossing paths with. /AU


ASTRIFEROUS

_BEARING STARS_

* * *

Breathe in, breathe out.

In, out.

Hinata watched herself in the mirror, and listened to herself breathe noisily. That way, she was one-hundred percent sure of her existence. Sometimes, she felt like she was just there. Not alive, not dead. Just drifting into a numbing nothing.

Just a few more breaths and she'll be ready to go.

Those were the things she would tell herself every morning. And yet, she'd still fail to step out of her apartment most of the time.

When she walked away from her full body mirror, she tiptoed. She always seemed to tiptoe around her apartment, even though she was alone. Utterly alone. Careful not to disturb the people that weren't even there, she maneuvered herself around her apartment. Past the kitchen-dining room, past the small living room, into the hallway. Past the bathroom door, past the door to the vacant room, and into her own room. Open the door slowly, and then cringe when the door makes an unsettling creaking sound. Somehow she forgets that the creaking sound always occurs every morning. Maybe she just likes it like that.

Something about _routine _made Hinata feel secure and safe. Anything out of the ordinary was a big no-no. New cereal? No. New grocer? No. New people? Heavens, no. She needed to be eased into things. '_It's my fault for being so messed up'_, was what she made herself believe. It was her fault for being so inept at new things. It was her fault for always crawling back into her shell, always seeking comfort in the old things, always going back to the safety and comfort of her small, secluded apartment room.

With one look around the room, everything seemed orderly. Everything was in place. Just like she liked it — just how it was supposed to be. The sun shone through the part in the curtain that was supposed to cover the small window adjacent to her bed. It was small enough, so that only a couple of birds — one or two — would fit side by side. Small like it was supposed to be.

Supposed.

**Sup·posed. **/səˈpōzd,səˈpōzid/ To assume (something). _Generally assumed that something is the case on the basis of evidence or probability [...]. _

Hyuugas were _supposed_ to be refine, confident, and strikingly talented. _Supposed_. Hinata didn't fall into that category. Under her own diagnosis, she guessed that was why she relied on order so much. Since, she, herself, wasn't able to fall into a category.

Carefully, she walked to her bed, and outstretched her arm. Her knee was digging into the material of her mattress, which was cloaked in a bed sheet, and then further concealed with a blanket. The streak of sunlight that graced her pillow was shadowed and covered by the curtain as she fixed them. There we go. Neat. Orderly.

Undisruptive.

She got off the bed, and smoothened out the area where her knee had left creases on the blanket.

Hinata knew what she was doing. This happened most mornings. She'd get up, get ready, and will herself to go to the door. But then she'll remember to clean something. To put something back in place. She was just delaying everything. Delaying the moment she'd have to take a cautious step outside of the safety of her apartment.

It's not like she hasn't gone out before. She has a job. A more or less stable income. Two friends she can truly count on. A boss who understood to not question her absences the second week around. It was all commonplace. Routine. Ordinary.

Her life was a monotonous cycle. Devoid of any color and life, kind of like her. Well, at least according to herself.

But things have to be different now. Just a little bit different, because her body can't handle that much change at once. Baby steps, baby steps. She went and retrieved her bag, careful not to move anything else that was on her desk. Over, under. Now the bag was securely on her shoulder thanks to a sturdy strap. She still kept a protective hand on the bag itself.

Breathe, Hinata, breathe.

She walked out of her room, slowly. Open the door slowly. Whoops, she forgets about the creaking sound, and still slightly winces at the noise. Tiptoe, tiptoe. Out of the rabbit hole now, Hinata. Watch your step. Take your time.

But not too much time.

She was at the door now, her hand clutching the strap nervously. She had to do this, Kiba and Shino told her it was good for her. She will be able to do this. Progress will be made.

For she had finally found some color in her life, amongst the backdrop of flowers that resided harmoniously at the flower shop she worked at. The colors that suddenly entered her life were vibrant shades of blue, orange, and a

weird shade of yellow.

He came in, unexpectedly, like a whirlwind. He took her by surprise, the way he had stumbled in awkwardly. He greeted her, and all she could do was stutter. He asked her if she was okay. No, no she wasn't. But that wasn't new.

Her boss came, and rescued her. Asked him what kind of flowers he was looking for, with that beautiful, charming smile of hers. It was a clash of blue eyes, blonde hair, and white teeth. Hinata was mesmerized.

He looked around, and laughed, scratching his cheek. Hinata remembered thinking how odd his birthmarks looked. Like whiskers on a cat!

And then he said he was in the wrong place, and apologized. He bowed to her boss, and then looked at Hinata.

Not straight through her, but _at _her. He was supposed to look straight through her, or not even acknowledge her. Simply pass her by.

But he lifted his left hand up, and his fingers made a 'V' pose. He introduced himself as Naruto. All Hinata was able to do was turn red, and bow. She wasn't able to even say her name in response.

When she left work that day, she was thinking of how happy she was that she had forced herself to go.

She wanted to see him again. It was a quiet hope, but a hope nonetheless.

Hinata wanted to change herself for the better, and she hoped that with this small 'crush-at-first-sight' she would. With that positive thinking instilled in her mind, she had opened the door. Shutting her eyes, she stepped to the side so the door would be able to open up all the way.

And when she opened them, she was faced with a chest.

Go back down the rabbit hole, Hinata.

Shakily, she found herself looking up, and someone looking down at her. His eyes were dark and foreboding. He had a scowl on his face.

He was also quite attractive. But his menacing aura overruled whatever physical gratuities have been given to him. She did not know him.

"He—" Hinata abruptly shut the door in his face in the middle of his sentence. Her hand held its firm grip on the door knob, afraid that if she loosened her grasp, he would come in. And in with him would come chaos.

Chaos that would destroy neat and orderly.

Breathe in, breathe out, Hinata.

Stay in the rabbit hole forever, Hinata.

Don't think about how you just slammed the door in your new, unsuspecting neighbor's face.

Don't think about how he also happened to be Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

Sasuke glanced down at the now open doorway, and found a girl looking up at him. It saved him from the trouble of knocking.

He wasn't aware that his 'next door neighbor' was a female. He had moved in to the apartment complex just a few days ago, but only recently got settled in yesterday. All he had known about the apartment to the right of his was that the person had the surname of 'Hyuuga'. The only Hyuugas he had known of were male. He assumed that the one living next to him would be male too, but he was proved wrong by the person in front of him.

Naruto had told him to be friendly and introduce himself to the others, which explained why he was standing in front of the doe eyed Hyuuga. She looked nervous; her hand was clutching the strap of her bag with a strong grip. Strong enough for Sasuke to tell that she was holding on with that much intensity.

She was breathing oddly, as she stared up at him, red quickly filling her cheeks with color. He figured he might as well say something now.

"He-"

And then the door was promptly shut in his face.

It took Sasuke a second to register what just happened, his mouth still yearning to form the rest of his greeting as it remained slightly open. Quickly closing his mouth, he settled back into his usual scowl, and accepted that he, Sasuke Uchiha, had the door slammed in his face.

A big bruise to his already inflated ego.

For a second, he deliberated whether or not he should knock on the door again, and demand an apology. But, the rational side of Sasuke told him it was also his fault for showing up suddenly at her door.

Still staring at the door, which was painted a shade of blue that was fading away, Sasuke frowned. His eyes looked to the right of the door, and there he found her name printed in tiny font on a scrap of paper that was placed inside the plastic container that was joined to the wall. He had his own too. It served as a sort of nameplate for those who lived in the complex.

"_Hinata H."_, he muttered to himself. He let her name sit on his mind and drift through his thoughts for a fleeting second. And then, he realized he should just let it go. He didn't need to be friends with his neighbor, and she herself didn't seem too eager to be friends with him. He'll just leave it at that.

Good riddance, Hinata H.

Turning away from the door, Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. First, he needed to reprimand himself for taking Naruto's advice in the first place. Then, he will destroy Naruto for somehow already ruining his morning, which happened to be an uncanny ability of his. Shaking his head for a second, Sasuke walked away, his hands placed in his pockets.

He had no time to stick around and talk to Hinata H.

He needed to meet with Naruto, at some little flower shop that resided a block or two away from the complex.

* * *

**a/n **runs hands down face and whispers '_sasuhina will be the death of me'_ this was a short chapter but I wanted to get the beginning done w quickly

i was thinking of joining everyone and doing that flower shop au but then i also wanted to have a Hinata who was more or less a recluse and have Sasuke stumble upon her and wooo romance! Bu T i also wanted naruhina...bc that was my first guilty ship im trash

so instead of killing two birds with one stone, i'm killing three! woo oo! thank you for reading! (´∀｀)


End file.
